We exercise rapid and fine control over the phase of light by transferringdigitally gen- erated phase jumps from radio frequency (rf) electrical signalsonto light by means of acousto-optic interaction. By tailoring the statisticsof phase jumps in the electrical signal and thereby engineering the opticalphase noise, we manipulate the visibil- ity of interference fringes in aMach-Zehnder interferometer that incorporates two acousto-optic modulators.Such controlled dephasing finds applications in modern experiments involvingthe spread or diffusion of light in an optical network. Further, weanalytically show how engineered partial phase noise can convert the dark portof a stabilised interferometer to a weak source of highly correlated photons.
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